


Things Unseen

by carolinecrane



Category: The Faculty (1998)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-12-19
Updated: 2004-12-19
Packaged: 2017-11-08 08:36:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/441271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carolinecrane/pseuds/carolinecrane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The scientific method always yields results.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Things Unseen

Zeke's a big fan of the unknown. It's what first drew him to Mary Beth, and making out with an alien…well, it makes for a good story, anyway.

But he likes the unknown; it's why he flirts with mousy teachers and why he tried out for football, why he likes drugs and most of all, it's why he likes Casey. He likes that Casey's smart, that he doesn't try to hide it and that he doesn't try to blend in. He likes that Casey does his own thing, even after Delilah dumps him in the most public, humiliating way she can think of. Maybe he likes Casey even more after that, because even after being torn apart by Delilah in front of the whole school, Casey's still not afraid to be himself.

He remembers how it started. Remembers watching along with the rest of the school while Delilah tore into Casey, telling him everything that was wrong with him and all the reasons he was an even worse boyfriend than Stan. He remembers hanging back to watch Casey dust himself off after Delilah walked away, remembers catching sight of Gabe and his goons out of the corner of his eye and not even thinking about it before he tossed his cigarette and started forward.

By the time he reached them Gabe had already shoved Casey once, and Zeke couldn't help feeling a little like somebody's bad parody of a superhero as he stepped between them. "Keep your fucking hands off him."

"Excuse me?" Gabe had said, like he'd never heard anybody tell him to keep his hands to himself before. And Zeke knew for a fact that wasn't true, because he knew a lot of girls and he'd heard what they all had to say about Gabe. "Look, Tyler, you're new on the team so maybe you don't know how it works…"

"I know how it works," Zeke had said, "You keep your fucking hands off him and I don't kill you and make it look like an accident."

He wasn't scared of Gabe – wasn't scared of anybody, not after he and Casey took on a fucking _alien_ \-- and he wasn't looking to fit in with the football crowd. It was just something new, something he'd never done before, and as soon as he was tired of it he knew he'd move on again. So he didn't care about the looks Gabe and his goons shot in Zeke's direction, and he didn't care about the murmured threats that he was pretty sure he was supposed to hear.

What he cared about was Casey, who was still standing there with that damn camera hanging around his neck. "Thanks," he'd said, and Zeke had answered with a vague _don't mention it_ before he'd walked away, digging another cigarette out of his pocket as he headed for his car.

After that he'd watched Casey a little more closely – just to make sure he wasn't going to have to kill Gabe – and he started to notice things. Like the way Casey smiled, big eyes shining when he laughed like he was always on the verge of tears, even when he was happy. And he always looked a little scared, but Zeke knew how brave Casey was and he was pretty sure that was just how Casey looked. He was willing to bet Casey would look like that when he was thirty – forty – like a scared kid who would break in half if he got caught in a strong wind.

But Zeke knew him, and he knew Casey was stronger than that. Knew Casey really was the hero all the papers claimed he was, and he knew exactly what Delilah had thrown away that day in front of the whole school. 

He's not positive when the actual obsession started, but after a few weeks of catching himself following Casey to classes and watching to make sure he made it to homeroom okay Zeke knew he was hooked. Knew exactly what he needed to make it go away, because he was a scientist and he knew all about experimentation and controls. He knew about learning curves and gathering data, knew about compiling results and he knew he wasn't getting Casey out of his head until he had a complete picture.

Until he could draw a graph and pinpoint exactly what it was about Casey Conner that made Zeke want him so much.

It's not hard to get started. Casey trusts him, mostly, so when Zeke pulls up next to him after school one day and says 'get in', Casey doesn't ask why before he's pulling the door open and sliding into the passenger seat. And it's not the first time Casey's ridden in his car, but it's the first time it's been just him and Casey, and he can tell Casey's wondering why Zeke offered him a ride.

"You finish Turner's Physics homework?" Zeke asks, just to give Casey an excuse to relax. And it works, because as soon as he says it Casey's nodding and leaning back against the seat.

"Almost."

"You wanna help me with mine?"

"You don't need my help," Casey says, and when Zeke looks over Casey's watching him like he's trying to figure out a the joke.

And he's right, so Zeke just nods and reaches for a smoke. "Yeah, but I want it."

He doesn't look to see Casey's reaction to that. Casey's smart, but he doesn't know that much about people – that much Zeke knows just from his short and disastrous relationship with Delilah – so Zeke's not sure if he gets it. But he's not going to push, because if he scares Casey he'll never get another chance at this. That much Zeke's sure of, because he thinks Casey might go for it, but Zeke's pretty sure he's one of those guys who needs to think it was his idea. Or at least that Zeke's not going to beat the shit out of him after.

Technically Casey never agrees to help him, but he gets out of the car when Zeke pulls up in front of his own house, and that's a good sign. It's an even better sign when he heads straight for the side of the house and Zeke's lab, the only part of the house Zeke really thinks of as his own. Besides, there's a couch in there and it's comfortable and if worse comes to worse, there are drugs.

Zeke pulls the door closed behind them and makes sure it's locked before he drops his keys on the counter that doubles as his lab and runs a hand through his hair. And he's not nervous, but he's not really sure how to _do_ subtle. He's used to just taking what he wants, telling people what he's going to do and then doing it without a lot of dancing around the truth. Only he's not sure how that would go over with Casey, so instead he tries for a little small talk.

"So…you and Delilah."

Casey lets out a snort at that, shaking his head and Zeke can't help grinning even though he doesn't know what the joke is. "You mean Delilah and Delilah. She doesn't love anybody but herself."

"So what were you doing with her, then?"

Casey shrugs and slides his bag off his shoulder, letting it hit the floor before he pulls his camera off his neck. "I was a celebrity for about fifteen seconds, and she liked the attention. It wasn't really worth it, though. She had this whole weird schedule for putting on lipstick, she can't even kiss like a normal person."

"Yeah? What do you know about kissing?"

And okay, maybe that's a little too unsubtle, but Casey just grins and dips his head to mess around with the controls on his camera. "You mind if I take your picture?"

"What for?"

"You're a big football star now, you're front page material."

That's true, so Zeke shrugs and leans against the counter in the center of the tiny room. "Where do you want me?"

His voice drops a little when he says it, and when Casey looks up at him his eyes are just a little brighter than they were a minute ago. "Right there's good."

He hears the click of the shutter before he's ready, and when he looks down at Casey he hears it again. "What, you don't give a guy any warning?"

"Candid's better," Casey answers, as though it should be obvious. "More real."

He takes another picture, then another before he sets the camera down, careful to put the lens cap back on before he settles on the couch and reaches for his bag. Before he has time to pull his Physics book out Zeke's next to him, leaning back against the old couch he's fallen asleep on a thousand times. His knee presses against Casey's but he doesn't move it, and when Casey doesn't pull away he takes that as a good sign too.

"You never answered my question."

"What?" Casey asks, glancing up all wide-eyed and Zeke can tell he really doesn't remember.

"I asked what you know about kissing."

And yeah, that's definitely not subtle, but Casey doesn't look away and now Zeke's almost sure he's not going to freak out. It's worth a shot, anyway, and when he doesn't answer Zeke just shrugs and leans in. 

"More than one way to find out," he whispers near Casey's ear, one hand braced against the couch next to Casey's shoulder and he lets his lips brush the skin at the side of Casey's neck before he pulls back far enough to find Casey's mouth. And Casey knows a lot about kissing, as it turns out. Or maybe he's just a natural, but he knows exactly what to do with his tongue and his mouth fits against Zeke's like they were made for this. He's not touching Zeke anywhere but where their lips meet, hands still limp at his sides and that's not right, so Zeke reaches up with his free hand and grips Casey's hair just hard enough to surprise a gasp out of him.

He takes advantage of Casey's open mouth to push his tongue inside, kissing Casey hard and moving him backwards until Casey has to reach for Zeke just to catch his balance. And that's more like it, because Casey's hands are gripping the front of his t-shirt and pulling him even closer and Zeke's not even sure how it happens, but the next thing he knows they're stretched out on the too-small couch with Casey's thigh pushing between his legs.

And this is nice; not exactly what Zeke had in mind, but he's hard and when Casey pushes up against his cock Zeke moans against his mouth and thrusts forward. He knows he's going to come in his pants like a teenager – and okay, technically he _is_ a teenager, but he hasn't thought of himself as one for awhile – but he's willing to let Casey set the pace. He's willing to go along with whatever, as long as it means Casey will be back for more.

He's pretty sure Casey will be back, at least if the way he's rocking against Zeke means anything. His hips are moving fast, like he can't get enough and Zeke knows exactly what he needs. What he wants is to do this right, to take his time getting Casey out of his clothes, at least, but he has a feeling Casey can't wait. So he slides a hand between them, heel of his palm pressing against Casey's dick through his pants, and when Casey tenses against him and lets out a strangled moan Zeke pulls back to look.

To watch Casey's face flush, whole body arched and mouth open and yeah, Zeke definitely wants to see more of that. Wants to see more of…everything, wants to see how far down the blush goes and wants to see Casey's mouth wrapped around his cock. Wants to watch Casey fall asleep, watch too-long, girlish eyelashes flutter against pale cheeks. He wants to make Casey come so hard he sees stars, wants him begging for it and moaning Zeke's name.

But this is a start, and when Zeke finally comes Casey's there to swallow the sound of his moan, hot kisses feathered against his cheeks and his neck and finally his mouth, Casey's teeth sinking into his lip and making Zeke want to start all over again. 

It's definitely not what he expected; he thought he'd have to work harder for this, that he'd have to coax Casey until he got over the fact that Zeke's a guy. But he was wrong about that, and he's looking forward to finding out what else he's got wrong when it comes to Casey. After all, he's always been a big fan of the unknown.


End file.
